Lessons Learned
by Ms. Perception
Summary: Sequel to "Cautionary Tales". Life was good in the months following Keller's party. But Rachel knew that's usually the moment when things go wrong. So she wasn't terribly surprised when Keller's aunt got arrested and the police were looking for Noah.


**Summary:** Sequel to "Cautionary Tales". Rachel had enough experience with life to know that the moment you thought that things were going well was the moment that everything went horribly wrong. That's why she wasn't completely surprised when she arrived at school two months after Keller's party to find out that all hell broke loose the night before.

**Pairings:** Samtana, Bartie, Chang-squared, Puckleberry, Mercedes/OC. Pucktana, Suck, Pezberry friendships.

**Warnings:** This is a continuation of my other story, **Cautionary Tales**. That story pretty much follows a few weeks after the _Blame it on the Alcohol_ episode. There are mentions of underage drinking, nonconsensual activities, and overall inappropriate interactions between a minor and an adult. Oh, yeah and some slight Finn bashing…. Because it's me!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Glee._ If I did Chord Overstreet would still be there, Puckleberry would be more than just a dream and Rachel and Santana would run that school.

**Author's Note:** So I didn't originally set out to do a sequel to Cautionary Tales but I kind of felt that I had to. The social worker in me just couldn't let it end there. I needed some closure for everyone involved. So this was born. I hope that you all enjoy.

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><p><strong>Lessons Learned <strong>

Life was suspiciously good for the gleeks in the months following what those in the know were calling "The Incident". Puckleberry 2.0 was going strong and it was clear that both were playing for keeps this time. Rachel was true to her word. She didn't let a single female (outside of the glee girls) touch her boyfriend. And when she couldn't be there, she had more than enough help from the other glee club members. After seeing just how vulnerable their resident badass could be, the club was in full protective mode. Any and every thing that dared to encroach on his happiness was viewed as a hostile threat and dealt with accordingly. It would've been really annoying, if it didn't manifest itself in the most amusing ways.

Like when Finn found out about Puckleberry 2.0. He was understandably confused that Rachel was no longer pining for him and was in fact weeks away from verbally confessing her love for Noah Puckerman. Unfortunately that confusion soon morphed into anger and he had a few choice words to share with his former best friend. Brittany, Santana and Lauren had some feelings about his approach. After a black eye, a kicked groin and having his entire line of descendants cursed in various languages, Finn was apologetic and a bit more visibly supportive of Puck and Rachel.

Thanks in large part to these bordering on psychotic interventions Puck was starting to move on. Though he continued to avoid talking about what happened that night, he was less anxious. He was able to be in a crowd without becoming overwhelmed. And after those first few days, he didn't need his gleek perimeter patrol any more. That was probably for the best as it was rather difficult to navigate the hallways in a timely manner when you were rolling deep with ten people and a wheelchair.

Puck's crisis brought them together in ways that they never could allow before. Rachel found true friends in her fellow glee girls and likewise the boys had formed a solid bond. Finn often looked confused as to when they all became friends and why he was the odd man out. But in the end, none of them really cared. At any rate he had company once Kurt returned to McKinley and he found himself outside the circle as well.

So life, for everyone that wasn't Finn or Kurt, was relatively good. But Rachel had enough experience with life thus far to know that the moment you thought that things were going well was the moment that everything went horribly wrong. So that's why she wasn't completely surprised when she arrived at school on a Wednesday morning two months after The Incident to find out that all hell broke loose the night before.

"Tell me you know where Puck is," were the first words Rachel really registered when she walked into the school. She was standing at her locker when Sam approached her. The normally unflappable blonde looked totally frantic and for lack of a better phrase, freaked the fuck out. That definitely wasn't good.

"No, I don't know where Noah is. He said he was going to get some practice time in this morning. I assumed he would be with you, Mike or Jonah."

Sam's brow furrowed. "You didn't hear the news?"

Rachel's heart clenched. She normally listened to the news in the morning, especially after the party but on a whim that morning, she chose to listen to the Broadway Classics channel. If she missed something that would cause her to lose Puck, she didn't think she'd ever be able to forgive Broadway.

"What happened?"

"Keller's aunt was arrested last night for statutory rape and sexual misconduct with minors, among other charges."

Rachel felt like the floor was giving out under her feet. "Do you think Noah knows?"

"Hard not to," Sam said grimly, pointing across the hall to the locker she knew belonged to Keller. As it was only a few feet away from Puck's, there was no way he could miss the plastered articles. The articles detailed the arrest of one Helen Jane Travis-Keller, Carmel High School math teacher. Someone had tastefully scrawled the words 'wonder if it runs in the family' across the top of the print out. There were a few more crumpled pieces of paper in front of Keller's locker that Rachel could see were more articles. Her heart broke for Keller but she couldn't focus on anything other than her boyfriend and where he was.

Then suddenly as if he were summoned, Puck was there. His face looked drawn but there were no other visible signs of distress. He was coming out one of the stairwells when he caught sight of Sam and Rachel standing at the lockers. She practically flew to his side with Sam hard on her heels.

"Are you ok?"

"Dude, everything cool?"

Puck smiled wanly at the in unison questioning. "I'm fine. I was with Keller."

"Is he…. Did he know?"

"No to both of those," Puck sighed. "I guess his parents forgot that teenagers are pretty much bastards to each other. They didn't tell Kell because he wasn't home last night. They probably figured they'd tell him tonight. But they won't get a chance because this is how he found out." Puck pulled the offending article down, crumpled it up like the others and tossed it down the hall. Rachel didn't bother to chastise him for littering. She felt the same way.

"Where's Kell?"

"I took him to my super secret hiding spot."

"Oh, you mean that place on the roof where you go to brood and play guitar?"

Puck narrowed his eyes. "What part of super _secret_ hiding spot did you just not understand there, Sammy? You suck at the best friend thing."

"Because you're so good at it? I called you with a legitimate crisis last night and you didn't even care!"

"Dude, for the last time. Your not being able to find your copy of _Avatar_ is not a legitimate crisis. It's a godsend for those of us that are sick of watching it every time you come over."

Sam pouted while Rachel laughed. Though this was far from the most ideal way to start her morning, it wasn't as bad she thought it should've been. Puck appeared fine. She was familiar with his emotions and he wasn't faking it. It was clear the arrest struck home but he appeared more concerned for Keller than for himself. Rachel shrugged it off. Eventually the collective student body would find some new salacious gossip to obsess over, leaving Keller in peace. She let herself relax and listened partially to the bickering teenage boys beside her. She rolled her eyes as their argument continued on the way to their first period study hall.

Her exasperation with the pair only increased when she realized that their usual study hall teacher was absent and in her place was William Schuester. Now they'd never stop! Ever since "The Incident" and Will's eye opening realization that he actually didn't treat them equally, their choir director had been making a large effort at getting to know all of his gleeks. And somehow that involved him actually being amused by the stupidity that the boys produced every time they opened their mouths. Rachel sighed as Will already smiled in their direction.

"I'm replacing you," Puck announced, once they were sitting.

"With who?"

"Santana."

Sam paused. "You can't."

"Oh, why not?"

"Because, San is already like BFF with your girlfriend. It's like a conflict of interest if she's BFF with you too. Then how will she be able to help Rachel when you screw up and hurt her feelings."

Puck swatted him on the back of the head before turning puppy dog eyes on Rachel. "Babe, is that true? Are you stealing my Satan?"

Rachel couldn't help but giggle at the ridiculousness of it all. "No, Noah. I'm not stealing Santana from you. She's still as devoted to you as ever. I'm willing to share Santana with you. I do claim Quinn and Mercedes though. They're all mine."

"That's fair. You're so very shiny, babe!" he beamed in her direction and turned back to his argument with Sam, who was now claiming all Asians. Rachel decided to tune them out at this point and concentrate on the actual purpose of study hall.

She was halfway through outlining her notes for their history midterm when the PA system kicked in. It amused her to no end that all eyes flickered immediately to Will sitting in the front of the room waiting for another repeat of Coach Sylvester's morning announcements. But the calm, monotone voice of their principal came on and all attention was lost. Until they heard a very familiar name called.

"Noah Puckerman, report to the Principal's Office immediately."

Puck stopped mid argument and gave his friends a hopelessly confused look. "I might be wrong here but I'm pretty sure I haven't done anything worth being called to the principal's office… this week. Right?"

"Right," Sam frowned thoughtfully. "You want us to come with?"

"Nah, it's cool. If it's anything really bad I'll text you," Puck replied with a shrug but Rachel could see the tension in his body. He grabbed his bag and left the room. Rachel tried to pay attention to her notes but she was horribly distracted. Sam moved into Puck's vacated seat beside her and had his eyes trained on the door like a puppy waiting for its master to come home. His jaw tensed as the period was coming to an end and there was no sight of Puck.

There was five minutes left to the period when Emma Pillsbury-Howell rushed into the classroom. Her face was flushed and pinched in a way that Rachel had never seen before. At least not without germs being involved. Emma made her way to Will and began hurriedly whispering something to him. Their teacher glanced very briefly at his two gleeks before asking Emma to cover the rest of the study hall. He was out the door and practically running a moment later. Rachel didn't need to look at Sam to know that he was going after Will. Rachel was never one to be outdone. She swept her books into her trolley bag and started to the door with Sam.

"Where are you two going?" Emma asked with eyes wide and worried.

"Ms. Pillsbury, I respect that you're trying to do your job and that involves keeping us in the classroom but there is something going on and we know it has to do with Noah. I'm sorry but that trumps any respect I may have for you and I'm afraid that Sam and I have to go now."

"What she said," Sam added in agreement.

Emma sighed after a tense moment where Rachel really thought she might have to go so far as to cough on the woman. Finally, Emma stepped aside to let them out. Rachel had enough courtesy to stop and put a gentle hand on the woman's arm. She murmured a quick "thank you" before racing to the principal's office with Sam. Before they had even rounded the corner that would take them to the office they could hear yelling. And strangely, it was their normally calm and collected choir director. Sam and Rachel exchanged confused looks.

"So you actually thought it was a smart idea to leave a sixteen year old boy alone with the police?" Will asked, incredulously. "A sixteen year old boy that doesn't have the best relationship with the police as it is? A sixteen year old boy that told us not three months ago that no one cares about him in this very office. And you go and prove him right!"

Principal Figgins appeared to be both surprised and scared by the outburst. His fear only escalated when Coach Sylvester attempted to intervene and Will turned on her as well.

"Shut it, Sue. I'm really not in the mood!" he snapped without tearing his intense gaze away from Figgins. The Cheerio coach blinked in shock. Will ignored her. "Do you even know what the hell they were talking to him about before he disappeared?"

"They were going to ask him about that Carmel teacher," Figgins stuttered out. "Something about drugs and a party. I don't know any more than that."

Rachel felt her blood run cold and she let out an involuntary squeak of surprise. The three adults whirled around to see the two teens hovering in the doorway.

"Is it true, Mr. Schue?" Sam asked, quietly. "The police are here about the party?"

"It seems that way," Will dragged a hand through his hair. "Puck was brought into one of the classrooms for questioning but he took off. That's when Emma got me. The police are still here and apparently really willing to wait to speak with him." He exhaled. "I'm going to go talk to them and figure out what they actually want. You two find Puck, get him calm and meet me back in my office."

"But they have class!" Figgins protested.

"I'll write them a pass. They're on glee business," Will shouted over his shoulder as he left to deal with the police. Rachel smiled a tiny bit at their teacher's response.

"So Schuester finally grew a pair," Sue murmured appreciatively. "It's about damn time." her eyes landed on Rachel and Sam. "Aren't you two supposed to be off skipping around to find your other lost boy?"

"Where do you think he went?" Sam questioned Rachel, ignoring Sue's painfully weak jab. "I doubt he'd go to his hiding spot since I know where it is and Keller's probably still there."

"Noah was right," Rachel frowned, turning on her heel and walking to where she knew Puck was hiding. "You really do suck at this best friend thing. He might have to promote Santana after all."

"Really?" Sam gaped at her. "You're actually making jokes at a time like this?"

"Choosing a best friend is a serious matter," Rachel replied, with only a hint of a smile. "Best friends know all your secrets. Even the ones you only think you're keeping secret." Rachel stopped walking in front of the choir room. "Like when you think you've got everyone fooled into believing that glee is not the most important thing in the world, when it really is."

She opened the door and they found their friend in the last place many people would think to look for him. Rachel paused seeing the distress he was feeling but trying desperately not to show. He was sitting on the floor with his knees drawn up to his chest. His head was resting on his upraised knees and he was staring at the wall opposite from him as if it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen.

"Noah?"

He gave no visible reaction to their presence. So they sank down to the floor on either side of him and waited. It was like this in the beginning. They were familiar with the pattern. But they really thought they would never have to do this again. Apparently, Sam and Rachel were not alone in that thought.

"I thought this was over," Puck said, breaking the silence. His voice was little more than a whisper but compared to the painful silence before it was almost deafening. "Why is this happening again?"

"What did the police say?"

"They said that the hospital notified them that night. It was a quiet investigation since I seemed reluctant to talk," he let out a harsh, shaky laugh. "It turns out that she's done this before. The kid that came forward… she used to give him… stuff and then she'd… and they put it together with that night. And they…. asked me… they asked… asked…"

"Noah, breathe," Rachel ordered, noticing that the words were becoming harder for him to force out. She put her hand on his back and started rubbing circles there. Sam just moved closer so that his shoulder was resting against Puck's hunched shoulders. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal but he didn't relax.

"What did they ask you?" Sam pressed. Maybe Puck was wrong. Sam seemed to know that regardless of how he acted, Puck needed to talk about this. Rachel nodded. Maybe Sam didn't suck at this best friend thing after all.

"About that night. And at first I was telling them but I started to… remember everything. And I couldn't be there. So I ran." He looked up for the first time since Sam and Rachel arrived in the room. "Do you think they're mad at me?"

Rachel laughed softly and continued rubbing his back. "Who cares, Noah? Let them be mad. They shouldn't have questioned you without another adult present."

"Yeah, I think we might want to be more concerned with how pissed Mr. Schue is right now."

"Mr. Schue is mad… at me?"

"No," Sam assured him. "He's mad at everyone for you. He yelled at Coach Sylvester."

Puck's eyes widened and the corners of his mouth lifted. "Seriously?"

"Oh yeah, it was pure awesome."

Rachel glanced at the clock. They had a few minutes before the next period ended. That was enough time to get Puck to Will's office without him having to deal with the crowded hallways. She wasn't naïve enough to believe that this wasn't enough to knock him back to how he was months before. Crowds were not going to be his friends.

"You ready to talk to them?"

His eyes met hers and she did not hesitate to lean forward so that her forehead rested against his. "You think I can?"

"I know you can," Rachel promised fiercely. "You can do this, Noah. You're stronger than this."

He nodded slowly and took a deep, steadying breath. "Ok, let's get this over with."

It took several minutes longer than it normally did but they gradually led Puck back to Will's office. They found their teacher pacing furiously in front of the door. Through the glass walls, Rachel could see a woman wearing a trench coat sitting in one of the armchairs. Will's head shot up hearing their approach. The previously tense and angry features melted instantly as he took in Puck.

"Hey," he greeted, once they were closer. His eyes were locked on Puck, who in turn was staring at the woman in the office. Will put a hand on his shoulder urging him to look at him. "Puck, listen to me. You are not going in there alone. I'm going to be right there with you. And if you don't like something, you tell me." Puck nodded. "This might not be the best time but I need you to know that I'm so sorry."

Puck gave him a confused look. "For what?"

"For not coming back for you guys that night," Will sighed. "If I had come back, this might not have happened. I will always know that I let you down in the worst possible of ways. But I promise that will never happen again. I'm here for you. For all of you. That means that I'm not going to let you go in there alone. If something makes you too uncomfortable in there, just tell me."

"Thanks, Mr. Schue," Puck smiled shakily. Will nodded in response.

Rachel reluctantly let go of Puck's hand and watched as Will led her boyfriend into the office where she and Sam couldn't follow. She watched the tense body language as the detective spoke. She watched Will jump in a few times when he didn't like where something was going. And she watched the tears welling in Puck's eyes. She wanted to be in that room. She wanted to punch the detective for making him this upset. She wanted to kill Keller's aunt for being a perverted bitch that ruined several boys, not just the two she actually cared about.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Rachel was drawn out of her not a little homicidal thoughts by the sudden appearance of Finn behind them. He was watching the same scene that Sam and Rachel were but without the benefit of understanding the context. Sam moved in front of him as if trying to block him from watching.

"Nothing you need to be concerned with," Sam answered, coldly. "What do you want?"

"I need to talk to Mr. Schue about my homework. I don't get it."

"Well, you'll have to come back later," Rachel said, her eyes darting to the office beyond them. "Mr. Schuester is occupied at the moment. Your homework can wait."

"What did Puck do now?" Finn asked, exasperated.

"What?"

"Oh, come on. We all heard Puck get called to the Principal's office and now there's a detective in Mr. Schue's office. So what did Puck do this time?"

"Why is it so hard to believe that maybe something was done to him?" Sam snapped. "You were supposed to be his best friend and yet you don't know shit about him."

The conversation was set to escalate and for once, Rachel didn't feel like intervening. Sam was right to be angry. Finn had no business in this one. In the beginning, she felt bad. She felt that they maybe should've at least attempted to include Finn in secret. But over time she realized why they couldn't. Sam was right. Finn didn't know anything about Puck. And he'd hurt more than he would help because he was too selfish to see past his own needs.

Finn was working on retort when the door opened. Instantly, Sam backed down and whirled around to face Will. His eyes flickered between Sam, Rachel and Finn before glancing over his shoulder at the quiet Puck. The detective was putting away her things and walked out the room without another word to Puck.

"Mr. Schuester, if he changes his mind…"

"If he changes his mind, we'll let you know. Otherwise, your business is done," Will said, dismissively.

"He's an important part of this case," the woman hissed. "With his testimony, we could put her away for a very long time."

"You're not forcing that kid on the stand," Will shook his head. "He said no and that's it. If he should change his mind, then it's his decision. Otherwise, your business with him is done. If I find out you've been harassing him any further, there will be repercussions."

The detective scoffed. "You're not helping him by letting him bury it. He needs to talk about it. All of it. It's not just the party. It's the 'cougars' too. That kid is a victim and you're just adding to cycle."

"That may be true but you're not helping by trying to force him to face it all in front of a court of law," Will pointed out. The detective paled as if the thought never occurred to her. She nodded, glancing at the three teenagers and walked away. Rachel was on their teacher before the woman was even out of earshot.

"They want him to testify?"

Will sighed, running a hand through his hair. "That's the official story, yes. They want him to testify about how she met him, the nature of their relationship prior to the night of the party and then the actual night of the party as well."

"He doesn't want to, does he?"

"No, he's refusing to testify about any of it," Will frowned. "Hell, I think he's about two steps away from denying any of it even happened."

Rachel looked at the slumped figure of her boyfriend. She didn't know what the right decision was here but she didn't think it was fair that he had to decide. Too many people, including Rachel, forgot that Puck was a kid. He was only sixteen. And this was too big for him to be dealing with alone. But that right there was the problem. Puck was in the habit of dealing with problems on his own since his father left. He tried not to be a burden on his mother. He tried to help her out any way that he could. And that's when the answer became clear.

"We have to call his mother."

Sam's jaw dropped as both he and Will looked at her in surprise. "Ok, Rach, he's gone out of his way to keep this from her for the past two months. You seriously want to tell her?"

"She needs to know," Rachel replied, firmly. "We handled this situation totally wrong. We let him cover it up. And now… he's not ok. And he's never going to be ok until he deals with it. All of it."

"Wait," Finn interrupted. "Are you guys talking about what I think you're talking about?"

Sam's eyes flickered towards him briefly but he wisely decided to ignore him. For now. Will patted him on the shoulder, acknowledging the gesture. "I'll call his mother. I'll tell her what's going on and then I guess we'll see where it goes from there."

"Who's going to tell him?" Sam asked. "He's going to hate us."

"I will," Rachel assured him. "You get the fun job."

"That is?"

"Telling the others what's going on," she grinned. "Including Finn and Kurt."

"Oh, come on!" Sam protested, sending a brief bolt of levity in the air. He sighed in a stunningly accurate impersonation of Rachel and sent a text message to the rest of the gleeks… including Kurt. Less than a minute later, he received at least five responses simultaneously. Rachel figured that would happen. They all heard the announcement. She was just surprised none of them had come to investigate the situation already. Sam looked up from his phone towards Will. "I think you might want to start writing more passes."

Will shook his head but smiled. "Yeah, I think you're right. Take your time. I'm going to go call his mother now." Their teacher headed in the direction of Emma's office, clearly giving them permission to use his office for however long they needed. Rachel made a mental note to thank him for his support and change of heart.

"I don't get why you didn't tell me," Finn spoke up suddenly. "You guys have been keeping this a secret for like the last few months. I should've been told."

"Why?" Sam asked. "Why should we have told you? What good could possibly come out of you knowing?"

"I…." Finn trailed off as no obvious answer came to mind.

"Exactly," Rachel finished for him. "You wouldn't have done anything that would actually help Noah and that's all we care about. You're not upset that you were left out because you're concerned about Noah. You're upset because you felt left out. But honestly, no one was thinking about that. And it's only because it's probably going to be around school within the hour that we're even telling you."

Finn opened his mouth to reply but thankfully thought better of that decision. His mouth closed with a snap and he gave his ex-girlfriend a hurt look. But she wasn't paying any attention. All her focus was on her current boyfriend who was still sitting in Will's office. Sam gave her shoulder a gentle nudge.

"Go talk to him," Sam urged. "I'll handle Kurt, Finn and the others." Rachel nodded in silent gratitude as he walked away, dragging a still pouting Finn with him. She let out a deep breath, squared her shoulders and walked in the room to find Puck staring at her with amusement in his eyes.

"What?" she asked, defensively.

"You look like you're heading into battle, babe," he snorted softly. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

Rachel rolled her eyes and walked over to the seat beside him. She hesitated for a moment before deciding to screw boundaries at the moment and placed herself on his lap. It was clearly the right decision as his arms wound around her waist, holding her close.

"Mr. Schue is calling my mom, isn't he?"

She kissed his forehead gently. "Yes, he is."

"I figured. For a moment, Sam looked like he was about to cry. I figured the only reason he was that freaked out was because you guys were going to do something I really don't want."

"Yes, Sam was a bit upset about the suggestion. But…."

"It's what needs to be done. I know," he sighed, sitting back, but keeping a loose hold on her hips. "I get that she needs to know but I just don't want her to be any more disappointed in me."

"Noah," Rachel started but stopped. She knew the relationship between Puck and his mother was rocky. They had their good moments and they had their bad moments. And then they had their completely horrible moments. Lately, they were going through some good times but she knew that Puck was fearful this would put them right back where they were. And she sadly didn't know if it would or not.

She leaned into his embrace and rested her head on his shoulder. She didn't know when she started humming but she became aware of it when she heard the low rumble in Puck's chest.

"Sweet Caroline? Isn't that my song?"

"You think you're the only one that has dibs on that, Puckerman?" she asked, playfully. She sat up and looked him in the eye. "I'll have you know that song is special to me. This really amazing and sweet boy sung that song to me. But I was stupid and I let him go."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, I know. Stupid, right? But I got him back. And I made a promise that I was never going to let him go again. I'm always going to be by his side. Even when things get really hard, I'll be there."

Puck swallowed thickly. "I think that the boy is really lucky. And I think he really appreciates that because he knows you mean it. You've proven it every day." He brushed a hand through her hair, toying with the ends idly. "I know you know how I feel about you but I need to say it. I love you, Rachel."

Rachel smiled softly. "I love you too, Noah." She brushed her lips against his and closed her eyes. "You're still shiny to me though."

He laughed and hugged her tightly. They sat together enjoying the lull in the drama that seemed to consume them since the party. Though she would always hate the circumstances, Rachel was proud of the results. She and Puck were forever and they knew it now. And they had an indestructible support system in the gleeks. Rachel opened her eyes a crack at the insistent beeping coming from Puck's pants.

"I swear I love them to death but their timing sucks," Puck muttered, pulling his phone from his pocket. He held the phone up to show Rachel the several messages. The overall consensus was that they were in the choir room when they were ready to talk. The message from Santana promised pain of death if they were not there within the next ten minutes. And Rachel did not doubt that Santana meant every word of it. "We better go before she takes all that rage out on Hudson or Hummel."

"Why them?" Rachel asked, amused. She stood up and held her hand out to him.

"Because she won't hit any of the others, she likes them too much despite what she says. And Hudson and the princess are probably pissing them off with stupid questions."

Rachel giggled even as they walked through the now populated hallways. She felt him tense but squeezed his hand reminding him that she was with him. They felt all eyes on them. Chances are that weasel Jacob already had a blog entry about it. She really hated that jerk sometimes. Rachel let out a sigh of relief as they finally made it back to the choir room and saw Santana, Quinn and Lauren standing outside talking quietly. All three girls looked up in unison when the couple approached. Santana saw the source of Puck's tension and glared at the randomly gawking students.

"First one of you to say a word gets to find out exactly how we do things in the Heights," Santana warned.

"And then I'll show you why I've been state wrestling champion three years in a row," Lauren added, crossing her arms over her chest. Rachel didn't bother to hide the laugh that bubbled out as the students went scurrying away.

"You ok?" Quinn asked, locking her eyes on Puck and then moving to Rachel. They both nodded. She let out a sigh of relief. "I swear you're bad for the blood pressure, Puck."

"It's part of my charm," Puck retorted. He let out a squeak as he was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace by Santana. "Are you hugging me?"

"Just shut up," Santana murmured. She pulled away and shook her head. "Sometimes I ask myself if you're worth all of this emotional shit I go through over you."

"And what's your answer?"

"Always," she assured him. "Before you go in there, I want to give you a little heads up. After we got here and Sam told us everything, uh…we got company."

"Company?" Puck asked, raising an eyebrow. Santana exchanged looks with Quinn and Lauren who both shrugged. They opened the choir room door allowing the couple to peek inside. "Kell?"

Keller looked up from his hushed conversation with the very concerned Mercedes at the sound of his name. Various emotions flashed through his eyes as he took in his fellow Titan. Rachel noticed that all conversations stopped as the two teens stared each other down. For a second, Kurt clearly thought about breaking the silence but that was quickly shut down by Lauren with one little look. Rachel was so making Lauren teach her how to do that.

"So I heard they want you to testify against my aunt."

Puck's mouth opened before closing. He swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, they do. Dude, I already told them no…."

"I know you did," Keller interrupted. "I know that a big part of that is because you don't want to talk about it. But I know that you're also thinking about my family. And I love you for that, bro."

Puck flushed but didn't deny it either. Rachel fell a little more in love with her boyfriend in that moment. She squeezed his hand lightly.

"But I need you to testify, Puck."

"What?"

"She's sick, dude. I don't know what the hell is wrong with her but all day I kept thinking about it. She's been like this since I was a kid. She always told me I had the cutest friends. I never thought too much about it until now. She needs to get help and that's not going to happen until she knows she's really going away. You're the only one that could do that."

"But… what about your uncle?"

"According to my uncle's Facebook status, he's single," Keller snorted, shaking his head. "I think he's always known something was wrong with her too. But he loves her, you know? She needs help and she's not going to get that with everyone protecting her to cover their own demons. I know that you're hurting and scared but I just need you to consider it."

"You know if you do we're all here for you," Sam spoke up, sensing the change in the tide of Puck's decision.

"I think it might be a little awkward if you all showed up in the courtroom," Puck murmured.

"Especially since it's not just us," Santana chimed in. "The rest of the Titans have your back too. Apparently they couldn't justify this as football business so they can't get out of classes. But Karosfky and Azimo told me to give you their vote of support."

Puck closed his eyes for several long moments. Finally, he turned towards Rachel. "What should I do?"

She brushed a hand over his face gently. "Want my honest answer?"

"Always."

"Bury the bitch."

Puck's eyes widened and a snort of amusement escaped his lips. He pulled her into his arms and held her close for a moment. He then looked up at Santana and smirked. "Satan, you're officially banned from alone time with Rachel for at least a month. She's starting to sound like you. That's not good."

"Whatever. Like I'm the only foul mouthed hottie that hangs around the midget," Santana muttered, sitting down on one of the seats. "I think you need to look in the mirror if we're talking about corruptive influences on Rachel."

"Noah is not a corruptive influence," Rachel protested, pulling away from Puck's embrace only slightly to glare at Santana. "He's an excellent and supportive boyfriend."

"He's also the one that taught you how to throw punches harder than any dude I've ever met," Keller pointed out with a small smile. "I thought the hockey jerk was going to pee his pants when you punched him and then kicked him in the groin."

"Good times," Puck snickered. "Good times."

Rachel was wary even as the tone in the room shifted to a lighter feeling. Puck was all smiles now but Rachel knew his mind was focused on what would happen when he got home after school. Truthfully, she was worried about it too. And that's why she wouldn't let him go alone.

* * *

><p>Despite his obvious anxiety, Puck sent the other gleeks home after school. He didn't bother to try that with Rachel, as he knew she most likely would hit him and she wouldn't go anyway. When they arrived at Puck's house that afternoon, Rachel knew they were both expecting several different scenarios, including one where his belongings would already be on the porch waiting for him to move out. The one they didn't predict and that actually happened was the one where her fathers were sitting at the kitchen table talking to the tearful, worried looking Debra Puckerman. As soon as she heard her son's hesitant footsteps she was out of her seat and wrapping her arms around him. Rachel smiled softly as she watched her six foot boyfriend curl into his five foot something mother's arms. She decided to give them a moment and walked into the kitchen, taking Debra's place at the table.<p>

"What are you doing here?" she asked after a few moments of silence.

"Debra called us as soon as Mr. Schuester informed her of the incident at the party," Hiram replied. "She wanted to know what options she had to protect Puck but also to completely destroy that detestable woman."

"I believe the word you're looking for is bitch, darling," Leroy pointed out with a grim smile. "My only regret out of this is that she won't go to trial."

"Wait, she's not going to trial? So Noah won't have to testify?"

"Your daddy is very good at his job," Hiram smirked. "As soon as I called her lawyers to inform her that not only would Puck be testifying but we also had three other eyewitnesses to the event, they backed down. She pleaded guilty and is getting the maximum sentence. Apparently she was a bit worried about one of the witnesses."

Rachel smiled faintly. "That would be Santana. She may or may not have dragged her away from Noah… by her hair."

"I knew I liked that girl for a reason," Leroy laughed. He leaned forward as his smile slowly faded. "Rachel, I'm not going to pretend that I'm happy with you and the others helping Noah keep this a secret. You should've told someone right away. I'm also not too happy with Mr. Schuester for helping you all hide this. But I get it. And I'm proud of you."

"For what?"

"For helping to keep Noah together," Hiram finished, patting his daughter on the hand. "This was a traumatic experience and no one would have been shocked if he fell apart. But he didn't and I know that has a lot to do with you."

Rachel blushed from her fathers' unexpected praise. She didn't think she did anything special. She loved Puck and she wanted to protect him. "I just couldn't let him fall apart," she said, quietly. "I love him too much to let that happen."

"We know, baby girl. But if anything remotely like this ever happens again, you know can talk to us," Leroy pressed. "I get that you all helped him and protected him but you didn't have to do that alone. That's what you've got us for."

Rachel nodded tearfully. "I get it."

"Good," Leroy smiled again. Debra walked into the kitchen, idly wiping away the evidence of her tears. "Is everything ok, Deb?"

She nodded. "Yes, Noah is upstairs in his room. Rachel, before you go up, I just wanted to thank you."

"You don't need to. But you're welcome. Also it wasn't just me. It was also Santana, Sam and the others."

Debra smiled shakily. "I know. I know that I have a lot of people to thank for watching after my boy. And I have a lot to make up to him. But I just need to thank you so much for being in his life, Rachel."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Puckerman."

"Oh, sweetheart, call me Debra. We are pretty much a family at this point."

Rachel started to agree when she noticed the glimmer in Debra's eyes. It was matched by both her fathers. It seemed that no matter how awkward and potentially traumatizing an experience their children may go through, nothing stopped a mother from planning her child's future. Especially when said child's future involved making lots of Jewish babies with his gorgeous Jewish wife. And on that note, Rachel was going upstairs now.

She sprinted up to Puck's room, only to find it empty. For a moment she panicked until she heard water running in his bathroom. With a sigh of relief, she walked into the room and lay down on his bed. Most people would probably be surprised to know that Puck's room was surprisingly neat. And it had nothing to do with Debra. The woman worked crazy shifts at the hospital, so Puck usually took on the mantle of housework and watching his younger sister. Rachel ran her hands over the comforter and smiled. She really did have an amazing boyfriend.

"I heard you running up the stairs," Puck said, as he left the bathroom and joined her on the bed. Rachel shifted instinctively towards his body, allowing him to wrap his arms around her. "What are the parents talking about?"

"I think they're planning our wedding," she muttered into his chest. "Again."

Puck snorted. "I don't know why they bother. It's never going to work out."

Rachel lifted her head. "What do you mean?"

She didn't know why she was worried. She was only sixteen. She shouldn't be concerned about marrying her boyfriend. But she kind of thought that maybe she and Puck would get that far. But maybe he didn't see them as forever. She stopped herself from feeling hurt. After all, they were still teenagers. And Puck was going through a really rough patch. Maybe just couldn't focus on something like his fictional wedding to Rachel.

Puck smiled at her even while shaking his head. "Babe, you really think a big ceremony with our parents planning is going to actually work? It's going to be the stuff of nightmares. And that's before Q, Mercy and Kurt get involved. There will be blood and I'm betting it will all be of the gleek variety. So no, we're definitely eloping. If only because I don't want to have to make conjugal visits because you ended stabbing Kurt at a dress fitting or something."

Rachel laughed but mentally admitted he was right. "Your mother might kill us if we elope."

"We just have to phrase it right," he continued, fingers carding through her hair absently. "We'll just tell her that with the elopement we had time to start working on the million grandchildren she wants."

"You know your mother so well," Rachel conceded.

"Not as well as I thought. I thought… she'd hate me. Or be disgusted."

"What did she say?"

"That I'm her son," Puck whispered in response. "She still loves me, Rachel. Even after everything I've done."

"You are pretty loveable."

He groaned, shifting away from her. "I'm a guy, Rach. We don't use words like that."

"But you are," she insisted, giggling at his feigned disgust. "And you're totally adorable."

"Ugh, seriously?"

"And you're so, so, sweet!"

Puck gave no warning before he turned and pounced on her, pinning her to the bed. Not that she was complaining. Her arms wound around his neck reflexively, pulling him closer.

"Take it back."

"Nuh uh," Rachel grinned. "You're my loveable, adorable, sweet boyfriend that I love very much."

Puck narrowed his eyes, smiling a little. "And you're my neurotic, crazy, shiny girlfriend that I happen to be completely in love with."

"I'm not crazy, Noah." Puck smiled wider. "Seriously, you think it's sweet when you say it, but it's not. Because I'm not crazy."

"Uh huh," he whispered before kissing her. And she knew he did it as a way to shut her up but maybe she didn't completely mind when he did. "Thanks, Rach."

"For what?"

"Being there for me."

"I'm always going to be there," she stroked his cheek gently. "Your mother isn't the only one that wants some Jewish grandbabies."

Puck's laughter filled the room and she felt warmed by it. This wasn't going to destroy him. As they lay on his bed talking and enjoying their solitude before they were invaded by gleeks (and they would be soon enough. Santana already sent a text that she and Sam were on their way), Rachel could see the Puck she knew and loved shining through. As much as she hated him feeling afraid or anxious, she knew that this was a necessary set back on the road to his permanent recovery. Puck was going to truly get past this. And he was going to do it with her by his side the whole way and the rest of the glee club behind him to catch him if he fell. Yeah, life was still good.

* * *

><p>*I'm reasonably sure the story is done this time. So no more sequels. That being said, I hope you enjoyed. I also hope the Will redemption was believable. I like to think the man would get his act together following something that serious.<p> 


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